Ronelldo and Harriett Carr came from Lowell, Michigan, to homestead in the early 1880s. They settled right on the edge of what later became Leal, North Dakota. They farmed there for the remainder of their lives and grew prosperous. They had one son, Burl, who later became a Valley City businessman.

In 1884, Mrs. Carr's sister, Mary Woodcock, came from Michigan to visit. She arrived by train in Sanborn, as the Soo Line Railroad was not yet in existence. Teachers were scarce, and Miss Woodcock was persuaded to stay and take a school. She first taught in Edna Township and later at Odell. She boarded in the home of Mrs. North.

In 1894, she married Fred Carr, a nephew of Ronelldo Carr, and they homesteaded a farm 8 miles southwest of Leal, where their son, Irl, was born in 1897.

In 1910, they moved to Valley City and bought a home on Fifth Avenue (Central Avenue). Fred continued to manage the farm and Mrs. Carr became an active member of the Methodist Church and the Women's Christian Temperance Union.

Irl worked his parents' farm in the summers during his school years, and permanently after graduation.

In 1919, he married Charlotte Peake and for many years they alternated their residence between the farm and Valley City. They had two children; Leonard and Margaret.

Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 45